Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she’ll be telling federal party leaders that cities deserve more respect as the economic engines of Canada, particularly Calgary.

The mayor made the comments in a media scrum after her address to the Rotary Club of Downtown Calgary on March 25, saying that she’ll be sending letters to the respective party leaders outlining what the City is hoping to see from their federal counterparts.

On Day 2 of the federal election, Mayor Gondek said federal parties must help cities with the burden of a growing infrastructure deficit.

“We are the place where the economy thrives. I’m looking for a federal government that understands that and will partner with us,” she said.

The City of Calgary has also been vocal about the more than $400 million annually in provincial and federal jurisdiction offloaded on to municipalities.

Recent polling by Leger has the Liberal Party of Canada out front with 44 per cent of Canadians surveyed saying they would vote for that party if an election were held today. However, for more than a year, the Conservative Party of Canada held a substantial lead in voting intentions.

Mayor Gondek said she didn’t want to speculate on what may or may not happen in the April 28 election. Regardless, her advocacy would remain the same, she said.

“I’ll be fighting for what we have already gained from the federal government, making sure that those funding commitments stay in place, and I’ll fight for more,” she said.

“We deserve to have a much more significant investment portfolio from the federal government, given that we are the engine of Canada’s economy.”

Not running in the federal election: Mayor Gondek

Mayor Gondek discounted talk of her taking the same path as her northern counterpart in running for the Liberals this federal election. 

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi will run for the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Edmonton Southeast. Sohi will apparently take an unpaid leave from council to run, according to CBC Edmonton.

He had served as Liberal MP in Edmonton Mill Woods from 2015 to 2019.

Mayor Gondek said she had a job to do here in Calgary, and that her passion lies in city building.

“I can tell you, at this point in time, it is critical to be committed to the work you signed up for,” the mayor said.

“I think it’s really important for mayors across this country to be standing strong on what it is that we need from our federal counterparts.”

When pressed if she’d been asked by any of the parties to run, the mayor didn’t flinch.

“I’m not interested in running at any other order of government,” she said.

“My passion is city building and this is where I belong, and this is the work that I was elected to do. This is the work that I love to do.”

Mayor Gondek announced her bid for re-election in Calgary’s upcoming municipal election back in November 2024.

• With files from Aryn Toombs